Diamonds & Drabbles
by M. S. Arora
Summary: A collection of drabbles, double-drabbles and the likes. UPDATE 30/07/12 William and Elizabeth meet under circumstances neither had planned, expected, or even imagined. Post-AWE, 100 words.
1. Diamonds

Disclaimer: Disney owns them.

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**Diamonds**

Her father thought her a diamond, precious and delicate; one that was required to be kept safe, away from the prying eyes of the heartless world. But there is good and bad everywhere, and things past cannot be recalled. _Ms Elizabeth Swann._

Then came a commodore, and she was a different diamond: still gleaming and exquisite, but different; one that would be encrusted for decoration. A fine woman accompanying a fine man. But beauty is not real. Beauty only exists in perception. Beauty is a fading flower. _Mrs Elizabeth Norrington._

A blacksmith came next, and he moulded her into a new form: still a diamond, but different. She was strong now. Strong and yet, she was protected, worshipped and pure. But security is the first cause of misfortune. _Mrs Elizabeth Turner._

Then finally, he came; the one who radiated aura like sunshine: luminous, warm, gold-brown. He split her into her spectrum of colours. She was still a diamond, but now, she knew who she was, her different forms. But sunshine all the time makes a desert. _Mrs Elizabeth Sparrow._

She knew her answer. She was the diamond. Stable, beautiful, proud. _Captain Elizabeth Swann_.

The name felt perfect on her lips.

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**A/N:** First attempt so please review!  
UPDATE 17th Sept: Initially, I intended to post all my drabbles separately, but now, I think it'll be wiser posting the drabbles as part of one story. It makes the pieces more manageable. :)


	2. Comeuppance

Disclaimer: Disney owns them.  
**Broken Compass Prompt: Coward**  
Summary: Jack demands justification for Elizabeth's actions in DMC after their return from the Locker (no romance)

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**Comeuppance**

Their eyes meet; amber and obsidian, light and dark, right and wrong. A betrayal, a death. A truth, a lie.

A flash of green, and resurrection.

He stands now, one arm casually draped over the railing, the other fidgeting with a loose thread in the depths of his pocket, fingers ghosting over the familiar wooden compass. The silence demands answers to the questions that remain unasked, and she stares defiantly at him, unafraid of the consequences; oblivious to the guilt.

"Why?" His voice is expressionless. No smile, no anger, no abhorrence.

"Comeuppance. Besides, cowards die many times before their deaths."

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**A/N: **Comeuppance = a well deserved fate or action.

Nytd mentioned these weekly drabble challenges on the Broken Compass forum to me a while ago, and I've finally gotten around to writing one as a response to the prompt! :D The finishing line is a popular proverb and a quote from Shakespeare's _Julius Caesar_.


	3. Daffodils

**Disclaimer**: I don't own PotC.  
Characters: 7-year-old Will Turner III, Elizabeth Turner. 100 words.

**A/N: **I'm feeling very Welsh today. Missed the 1st March deadline, but here we are! This one goes out to my dear friends, **Damsel-in-stress **and **Pirate-on-fleet-street**. Their support keeps my muse afloat. :)

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**Daffodils**

As the first rays of morning sunshine suffused the sky, Elizabeth stood at the cottage door, overtly fixing stern eyes on the approaching figure; but covertly, sighing with relief.

Her son continued to trudge across the dew-streaked field, and recognised her only when he reached to nudge the dishevelled hair from his eyes. Smiling in greeting, he sprinted towards her and buried his face in her dress.

"William, an explanation, if you please."

Grinning wordlessly, he reached inside his coat and withdrew two yellow flowers. Elizabeth's scowl rearranged into an incredulous smile.

"Why, they're –"

"Happy _early_ St. David's Day!"


	4. Ignis Fatuus

**Disclaimer: **Disney owns PotC  
**Characters and Setting: **Will, Elizabeth, Tia (and Jack). **End of DMC, just before they enter Tia Dalma's cottage. **100 words.

_A huge massive thank you to Pirate-on-Fleet-Street for her advice! _

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**Ignis Fatuus**

The sunset summons accusing caresses of the evening chill, coercing them over her skin, and under. The river meanders, its path illuminated by the bearers of the candles and the lambent cottage. In the distance, a green glow emanates from the shadows of the swamp. Elizabeth had read of them.

"Will-o'-the-wisp," whispers Tia. Elizabeth meets her arcane gaze, as does William. "Or perhaps, _Jack_-o'-lantern."

All eyes divert back to the gleam.

She knows he's there, the soul flitting between heaven and hell, life and death, eternal freedom, and imprisonment.

"They're nothing but fireflies, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth looks away, swallowing the guilt.

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**A/N: **_Ignis fatuus _≈ _foolish fire_. Its many names include 'will-o'-the-wisp' and 'jack-o'-lantern'. It is a rare, ghostly light seen after sunset over bogs and marshes. Naturally, such a phenomenon is surrounded my much folklore including stories of the astray souls of '**Will the wicked blacksmith**' and '**Drunk Jack who makes a deal with the Devil, offering up his soul in exchange for payment of his debts**'. Resemblance? I think so too.


	5. Gendenwitha

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.  
**Characters and setting: **Jack, Tia. **Pre-CotBP- the day Jack got his compass**. 100 words.

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**Gendenwitha**

One hand rests over his heart, and the other traces his cheekbone, setting aflame the skin beneath.

"Sosondowah, Dawn's guardian, fell in love wit' a mortal, Gendenwitha. De angered Goddess imprison him, turnin' Gendenwitha into de beaut'ful Mornin' Star dat shine abov' us; temptin', unreachable."

With a cryptic smile, she opens the compass, and withdraws into the shadows, leaving the needle to point to the star glimmering against its violet tapestry.

As the first rays of sunshine creep over the edge of the ocean, her parting words dawn to him, and Jack pockets the compass, recognising his Gendenwitha; his horizon.

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**A/N: **The story of Gendenwitha, Sosondowah and Goddess Dawn is a tale in Iroquois mythology. Google any of those names for more info. Thanks for reading! :)


	6. Dinner with the Turners

**Disclaimer**: Disney owns PotC.  
**Characters: **Jack, Elizabeth, Will Turner III. 100 words.

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**Dinner with the Turners**

A little boy of two giggled incessantly as he adjusted the oversized tricorn obscuring his eyes, to watch his mother bring a porridge-filled spoon towards him. Timing it perfectly, he turned his head, causing the spoon to collide against his cheek.

"William!" laughed Elizabeth; and to that, the boy grasped the spoon and hurled it towards an unsuspecting Captain Jack Sparrow seated across the table.

"Has a bit of his father in him, doesn't he?" muttered Jack, prodding the oncoming bruise on his left eye, and recalling a similar incident involving a young Turner, an oar and several undead pirates.

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___Thankee muchly, Pirate-on-Fleet-Street, fer yer marvellous advice. :)_


	7. Finding Radha

**Disclaimer**: Disney own CJS.

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**Finding Radha**

In the buzzing market of Jamnagar, Jack searched for Radha.

He would never know her true name, he did not know if she had one, for she was vibrant and dynamic, an ethereal charisma that was ever-changing. Amidst the crowd, he would glimpse her secret smile, her angular features, the red skirt; and when there came the fragrance of the jasmine flower, he would inhale deeply, trailing subconscious fingers over the faded bandanna, and listening amongst the foreign speech, to her voice, a whisper, an echo of a lost memory.

In the city of Jamnagar, Jack searched for his Radha.

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**A/N**: Radha is pronounced as 'Raa-dha' (audio pronunciation: www forvo com/word/radha/). I've been travelling around India this summer, and it's turning out to be a truly inspiring visit. I've got a new story which I haven't yet started writing, but the plot is clear as ever in my head. It'll be something along the lines of this drabble, but I'll leave the rest up to your imagination. :D


	8. Sting of the Wasp

**Sting of the Wasp**

A cold wind whistled a quiet low note, a strange thrumming sound that unsettled the riggings and faded sails. The night regressed into its docile form, the ripples of agitated water disappearing eerily into duteous stillness, leaving the thick fog to blanket the ethereal ship. For a moment, time stilled, and hearts faltered, in both bodies and chests.

William cradled Elizabeth's head, and when she roused, he smiled down at her tenderly, the way she had done, once upon a time, on the _Pearl_. Tentative fingertips ghosted over her neck where the fatal wound should have been.

"It's time, Elizabeth."

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Words: 100. Post-AWE.  
Excerpt from the next chapter of 24 Gurus, but I think it works well on its own! Thought I should do some warm up exercises before attempting to write anything longer... I've been gone a long, long time. On the plus side, I'm over halfway through my degree! :)


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